On My Days Off....

So along with another week of camp I had another set of days off. I have really been getting out and about on my days off and trying to experience the most of Calgary as I can. (With lots of help from Amy and Kev). To start this time off Amy came out to the ranch to have the grand tour and go for a swim in the lake with me. I have started swimming everyday at the lake, because I figure why not! After an afternoon dip in the lake we headed home to Calgary. Amy told me that we would be going to Japanese Village for dinner. I was excited because we don't have an abundance of cultural foods at home in the east coast, and it would be great to try some while I am here.

Our Chef

The Japanese Village was great food and a great atmosphere. The grills were right at the table so you watched the chefs prepare your dinner. When we walked in the room was a buzz with laughter, applause, chefs talking and the sizzle of the grill. We were shown to our table, and before long the chef came out to prepare our dinner. Our chef made excellent food but unfortunately wasn't as outgoing as some of the other ones around us. We think he may have been an apprentice or something because behind us they were having 'happy fun time hour' and our table was a bit dudsville. However it was cool to see him slicing and dicing the food, and he did a cool candle thing with an onion. We at our delicious dinner, and as we were finishing our dessert a guy came over and asked us if we wanted a little magic show. Who says no to magic?

The Magician

So this guy started with a card trick. He flipped through a blue backed deck and told Amy to tell him when to stop. When he stopped he turned over the card (a 9 of hearts) and gave it to me and got me to write my initial on it. Then he pulled out a red backed deck and found the 9 of hearts in that deck. He put the blue backed card with my initials on it on the table and told Kevin to put his hand over it flat on the table. He took the red backed 9 of hearts and moved it around a and did a little something something, and then told Kev to lift his hand. There was indeed a red backed card under Kevin's hand now, and the magician was holding a blue backed one. He flipped over the red card and my initials were now on that one!!! It was very impressive! It might not sound like it in text but it was awesome to see.
For his next trick he said he needed a 5 dollar bill that could be ripped. So a different guy at our table gave him a 5 dollar bill. The magician ripped a corner off the bill and handed it back to the guy and told him to keep the 18 cents. Then he folded up the bill and did a little something and then when he unfolded the bill it was a whole bill again. That was very cool, but not the end of the trick. Out of his bag he got a coffee cup and a butter knife. Then he did a few tricks where folded up the bill again and put it under the coffee cup, and then it would be in his hand. He did a few tricks where he made it look like he was dropping the folded bill through the coffee cup. Then for what I thought was the grand finale he dropped the bill through the coffee cup, when it landed he put the cup down over it, and when he pulled up the cup there was a lime under the cup. A LIME! His sleeves were rolled up, how in the hell do you palm a LIME! Then I looked at Kevin and said, "If the 5 dollar bill is inside that lime I'm going to loose it." No sooner did I say that and he stabbed the butter knife into the lime and pried it open, and inside there it was, the folded 5 dollar bill! I exclaimed, "OH MY GAWWD!" I was super impressed with that. Then before he left he signed the back of the card for me and gave it to me. It was pretty amazing! So good food, and a good show!

On Monday Amy was working so I headed over to a trendy little spot in Calgary called Kensington. It is known for having trendy little shops and cafes, so I went to check it out. It is a cute little area with lots of little shops and designer stores. I looked around a bit, debated going and getting the other side of my nose pierced (it is something I have been thinking about for a while) but ultimately decided to wait until camp was done. I bought a very cool leather bracelet, and ate lunch there before heading home. I spent the rest of my days off just relaxing, reading, napping you know all the good stuff. Now I am finishing this, packing up and heading back to camp for the week. I will let you know how it goes when I get back.

Much Love to my Fans ;) xoxox